Electric time-call



(No Model.)

11. VARLEY, Jr. ELEGTRI TIME CALL.

Patented 1p1?. 14,1891.

@D @Lm n30 11,45@ 12. 1. n.50 l1 'NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RICHARD VARLEY, JR., OF ENGLEWOOD, NEW JERSEY.

ELECTRIC TIM E-CALL.

SPECIFIGATIGN forming part of Letters Patent No. 450,390, dated April14, 1891. l Applioation iiled November 18, 1890. Serial No. 371,810. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, RICHARD VARLEY, Jr., a citizen of the United States,residing at Englewood, in the county of Bergen and State of New Jersey,have invented an Improvementin Electric Time-Calls, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This device is especially adapted to hotels, Where it is desired 4toarrange for calling guests at certain hours. Electric devices that havebeen used for ringing a bell in the guests room automatically at a givenhour are objectionable, because the occupants of adjoining rooms areoften disturbed, and Where checks are used to indicate the rooms Wherepersons are to be called difficulty has arisen in connecting a number ofchecks to one time-signal, and some checks may be attended to and notothers.

The object of this invention is to avoid the before-mentioneddifficulties; and it consists in combining with a clock-movement anelectric alarm and conducting check holders, each adapted to receive oneor more metallic checks, by the placing of which check upon the holderallotted to a given time of vday or night closes the circuit, so thatthe alarm is rung automatically when the clock arrives at thecorresponding time, and it will continue to ring for a given time,unless all the checks are removed from that particular holder.

In the drawings, Figure l is a diagrammatic elevation of the apparatusand some of the circuit-connections. in larger size, of one of thecheck-holders. Fig. 3 shows the check separately, With the holder insection. Fig. 4. represents a modiication of the check-holder, and Fig.5 is an elevation of the check for the holder shown in Fig. 4. n

A time-movement of any desired character may be used. I have representedat A the dial and hands of a clock, and in cases Where the dial isdivided into twenty-four hours, the circuit-closin g arm B maybe on thesame arbor as the hour-hand; but where the time-movement is divided intotwelve hours the circuitclosing arm should be geared to the same, asrepresented by dotted lines in Fig. l, so that such circuit-closing armrevolves only once in twenty-four hours, and around the circle describedby the arm B there are to be contact- Fig. 2 is a section,

pins O of the desired number. For instance, if the call-time is dividedinto half-hours, there will be forty-eight of such contact-pins O. Ifdivided into quarter hours, there will be ninetysix. Usually ninety-sixof such con tact-pins are sufficient, so that the alarm may bev given atany fifteen minutes during the twenty-four hours, as hereinafterdescribed.

Upon the circuit-closing arm B is a spring 2, preferably of platina, andit is attached to the rear side of such circuit-closing arm, and the endof such spring comes into contact successively with the pins O, and asthe clockmovement progresses the spring is bent sufficient to allow thearm to pass on and the spring to separate from contact with one pin andstraighten out fiat against the side of the arm and then at the propertime come into contact with the next pin, and according to the length ofthis spring 2 so the same will remain in contact with one of the pins Oa greater or less period of time and the alarm Will be rung for ashorter or longer time. At D, l have represented an alarm. It may be ofa suitable character. It is represented as a circuit-breaking alarm, sothat the vibrations of the hammer will open and close the circuit, andthe bell Will remain ringing during the time that the spring 2 is incontact with one of the pins O, and the circuit is oth-A erwise closed,as hereinafter mentioned, by a check H.

I provide an annunciator frame or board E, and there are perforationsthrough the same for the sliding check-holders G. Each of thesecheckholders.is provided With a spring 3, by which it is drawn inwardly,and the checkholder is of conducting material, and adjacent to thecheck-holder and preferably upon the face of 'the annunciator-board is acontact-strip 4.; but the check-holder in its normal position does notcome into contact With such strip.

There are to be as many check-holders as there are contact-pins O, andeach contactpin is connected by a conductor, preferably flexible, withits contact-pin, and these checkholders arearranged in aconvenientmanner tocorrespond to the hours of the day. For instance, if there areeight check-holders in the top line and they are all allotted to thehour of 1 oclock and 2 oclock and to the one- IOO quarter, one-half, andthree-quarters hours, they will be marked accordingly upon the face ofthe annunciator-board. So, also, the second line may be for the hoursand quarter-hours from 2 oclock to three and three-quarters, and so on,as shown in Fig. 1. In this case there Will be twelve lines and themarks'can be either for a twelve-hour dial or for a twenty-four-hourdial upon the clock. As before mentioned, neither of the check-holderstouches its contact-strip when in a normal position, and when a check isput upon the holder the check closes the electric circuit. The checksmay be of any desired shape, but they must be of metal. I prefer to usethe checks II having upon their surfaces numbers corresponding to thenumbers of the different rooms in the hotel or building, and each checkshould be slotted to set upon the sliding check-holder, so that When aperson desires to be called the cheek H with the number corre'sponding`to his room is taken from a rack or holder and applied upon the slidingcheck-holder correspondingY yto the hour at which the guest is to becalled, and the spring of the holder draws the check back against thecontact-strip 4. Hence when the clock arrives at the time correspondingto the check upon the annunciator-bcard where the check has been appliedthe spring 2 of the arm B, When it comes into contact with the pin C,that is connected to that particular sliding check-holder, the circuitfrom the battery K is closed and the current from said battery passes bythe Wire through the electro-magnet of the alarm D, and by the Wire 10to the arm B, and from there the current passes through -the arm B,spring 2, contact-pin C, Wire 7, to the corresponding slidingcheck-holder G, and through such checkholder and the check H to thecontact-strip 4, and from there by the WireS to the other pole ot' thebattery, and the alarm will continue' to ring as long as the spring 2 isagainst the contact-pin C; but it will be apparent that the alarm willnot be rung except Where a check intervenes between the holder G and thecontact-strip 4, because at this point the electric circuit is broken,and it makes no ditference how many checks I'I with different numbersmay beintroduced upon the sliding check-holder, because they will all bepressed into contact and close the circuit with the strip 4, and as soonas the bell-boy or other attendant removes the checks from thecheckholder the alarm ceases to ring, and by the checks with the numbersupon them he can pass to the respective rooms and call the guests withreliability, because he does `not require to remember the respectivenumbers, because he can take the checks With him. In this manner theguests can be called With reliability Without one person being disturbedby the alarm in another room, and there is little or no risk of anyappointment being overlooked.

A projection or Wires G2 may be provided adjacent to each check-h older,such Wires being connected by the strip 4 or otherwise, and suchcheck-holder will be stationary and project, as at C', and the check Hcan be slipped upon the same, as shown in Fig. 4, in which case thefirst cheek unites the contact-strip 4 and check-holder G electrically,and if other checks are added they only need to be hung on the holder.In this manner the spring and movement of the check-holder may bedispensed with and the parts G G2 may be 'made as spring-Wires, or thechecks may be provided with spring Wires or rings to pass over the partsG G2, in which case such parts G G2 may be rigid.

I claim as my invention-- l.` The combination,with a clock-movement andan alarm, of a revolving circuit-closing arm, contact-pins for the same,an annunciator-board and check-holders adapted to receive several checksand connected respectively with the contact-pins and circuit-Wires, anda portable circuit-closing check adapted to be received by thecheck-holder and to close the metallic circuit, so that the alarm isrung when the 'moving arm of the clock comes in contact With the pin"atthe `designated hour, substantially as set forth.

2. The annunciatorboard having checkholders, each adapted to thereception of a number of vportabletcircuit-closing checks, aclock-movement, an alarm, an electric circuit and contact-pins, and anarm actuated by the clock-movement for closing the circuit and ringingthe alarm throughthe agency of the circEit-closing checks, substantiallyas set fort 3. An annunciator-board having contactstrips 4, incombination With the separate check-holders and circuit-connections,andthe IOO circuit-closing checks adapted to be placed on the holders toclose the electric circuit by contact with the same and With the strips,substantially as set forth.

4. The combination, With a time-movement and a circui-t-closing arm, ofa range of contact-pins, a spring upon the end of the arm, and anannunciator and sliding check-holders and circuit-closing checks,substantially as set forth.

5. The combination, with the annunciatorboard and the stationarycontact-strips 4, of the check-holders and`the portable circuitclosing`checks, such eheckholders being adapted to receive one or more of thecircuitclosing checks and an electric circuit closed by such checks, andan electric alarm mechanism connected with the check-holders,substantially7 as set forth.

Signed by me this 15th day of November, 1890.

RICHARD VARLEY, J R. l/Vitnesses:

GEO. T. PINCKNEY, WILLIAM G. Morir.

IIO

